Possible Orange Bowl-Notre Dame tie in ?

The ACC and the Orange Bowl Committee have reached a 12-year agreement that will annually feature the ACC Champion in the Discover Orange Bowl.

The game will be moved from its night time slot to be played on New Year’s Day at 1:00 pm beginning after the 2014 season, with the official opponent tie-in still to be determined.

It is widely rumored that a special deal may be made to Notre Dame in a bid to provide the Fighting Irish with a more stable bowl game "home", if the Irish meet certain W/L criteria.

“The ACC and Discover Orange Bowl have a terrific relationship and, as we look ahead to the future of postseason college football, this will further an already beneficial partnership for both organizations,” ACC commissioner John Swofford.

“The Discover Orange Bowl has a rich history of prestige, is located within the league’s footprint and is a great destination for our student-athletes, alumni and fans. In addition to our continued partnership, we are very pleased to be playing annually on New Year’s Day.”

The new playoff system in 2014 has the Orange Bowl hosting four semi-final games within a 12 year stretch, and says in those years, its champion will play in one of the three other host bowls.

If the ACC champion makes the playoffs, another ACC team will play in the Orange Bowl to face either an "at-large" or a 9 win Notre Dame outfit.

The Fighting Irish have played in no fewer than five Orange bowl's and have played a large part in making the Orange Bowl what it is today.

The ACC is now the fifth power conference to announce a tie with a bowl game that expects to be part of the pool of six bowls from which two semifinal sites will rotate.

The Big 12 and Southeastern Conference are creating the Champions Bowl, while the Big Ten and Pac-12 are both committed to the Rose Bowl.

So what does this mean for Notre Dame?

Well, should the Irish enter into such an arrangement with one of the major bowls, then you can forget about Notre Dame joining ANY conference for the duration of the the new playoff structure, 2024.

The Fighting Irish are sitting very pretty if they get this deal done with the ACC/Orange bowl.